Fresh baked cockroach bread: future of protein?

Bugged by the thought of cockroach-enriched bread?

If these specially-bred, nutritionally-rich roaches become the grist to a whole new culinary choice, remember back when we were talking about it, today.

https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/ezkeqm/meet-the-scientists-who-are-making-bread-with-cockroach-flour

Andressa Lucas and Lauren Menegon, as they described in the above Vice article, designed their infused wheat flower at the Federal University of Rio Grande, in Brazil. Forty percent more protein than wheat flower sounds like a very helpful alternative. If you ever dealt with the German Cockroach house pest, that crawling you feel is probably your skin. It's not like these clever scientists feel magnanimously towards roaches, either, outside of the lab. But their special fruit and vegetable diet meets national hygenic standards. They're cheap to raise and take a lot less space than cattle.

You may well be thinking, "no way am I giving up my double cheeseburger for Roach Cakes!" I know people who still won't try sushi. Those people have never had to fog their house because of eels, either.

You can't ask for a better source of protein per gram. They're not the same species you find in sewer drains. I don't remotely think I'm convincing anyone, so far. You may not even care for dark, leafy greens. Some of you would try the roach bread over a can of baked beans, any day! (Some of you would like to see for yourself, even if you knew what it was.)

The viability of a bug diet came to my attention in the second issue of Planet Weekly I ever worked on. Sean Johnson knew Entomophagy was off-putting, but he gambled the cover, if not the incidental conversation, would make people pick up his paper. Plus, bugs as protein is a valid point. The ideas that shape our diet are largely instilled, culturally. Not every insect offered was a pest, but the creepy-crawly idea didn't spark Dreamland Caterpillar Fries in Tuscaloosa. I know some people would rather have tofu. And some might have to really think about that. (It's a good choice if you can figure out the texture and flavor issues, though; many of you have it daily.)

I don't know if this sensible substitute will ever catch on. The flavor of the bread was unchanged, say the researchers, who thoroughly polled friends and family (how did that work? IF you tell someone what's in it, who's going to say 'yes, I'll have a slice" ?). Eight of nine essential amino acids, provided by one of nature's hardiest survivors. High quality Omega-3 and 9 fatty acids.

In a hundred years, will we be forced to make choices like this for practical reasons? Will we begin a hybrid of choices, so we can still have some beef if we like, with a side of beetle bran muffins? We were eating animal organs a century ago. Growing up, potatoes, peas and corn WERE an answer to dinner vegetables, and hardly anyone thought of them as poor substitutes. Though, for flavor's sake, out in the country we had a whole garden of other possibilities, like black beans, peppers, and pintos. Fears of mercury poisoning swayed many people away from highly-touted seafood.


Are we really being honest with ourselves about the risk factors in beef production? Are we so at home with the way we raise, say, pork, or the runner-up lean meat to fish, chicken, that hygenic roaches seem beyond the pale? Are we rest-assured the burger ordered from our local drive-through was prepared with no contamination? Hormones in food have been a health concern for a generation. Nuts are a terrific protein source, but almonds, for example, take tremendous amounts of water. Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT) in Rice Krispies have gotten them banned in other countries.

I'm not trying to scare you, but I can't help but speculate on the way we form our biases. From space management to animal cruelty concerns, people have gotten on board with a change in diet from the fare with which they grew up. Sometimes, you simply want to try something new.

IF you thought avacados or turkey burgers were weird, though...

Look at it this way. Even your average American has likely encountered chocolate-covered ants or grasshoppers. Lucas and Menegon were working on crickets and beetles as viable alternatives at the time of the Vice interview. Maybe there's a gateway dish? Side of silk worm, anyone?